TY  - JOUR
A1  - Archer, A.
A1  - Barnacka, Anna
A1  - Beilicke, M.
A1  - Benbow, W.
A1  - Berger, K.
A1  - Bird, R.
A1  - Biteau, Jonathan
A1  - Buckley, J. H.
A1  - Bugaev, V.
A1  - Byrum, K.
A1  - Cardenzana, J. V.
A1  - Cerruti, M.
A1  - Chen, W.
A1  - Chen, Xiaoming
A1  - Ciupik, L.
A1  - Connolly, M. P.
A1  - Cui, W.
A1  - Dickinson, H. J.
A1  - Dumm, J.
A1  - Eisch, J. D.
A1  - Falcone, A.
A1  - Federici, Simone
A1  - Feng, Q.
A1  - Finley, J. P.
A1  - Fleischhack, H.
A1  - Fortson, L.
A1  - Furniss, A.
A1  - Galante, N.
A1  - Griffin, S.
A1  - Griffiths, S. T.
A1  - Grube, J.
A1  - Gyuk, G.
A1  - Hakansson, Nils
A1  - Hanna, D.
A1  - Holder, J.
A1  - Hughes, G.
A1  - Johnson, C. A.
A1  - Kaaret, P.
A1  - Kar, P.
A1  - Kertzman, M.
A1  - Khassen, Y.
A1  - Kieda, D.
A1  - Krawczynski, H.
A1  - Kumar, S.
A1  - Lang, M. J.
A1  - Maier, G.
A1  - McArthur, S.
A1  - McCann, A.
A1  - Meagher, K.
A1  - Moriarty, P.
A1  - Mukherjee, R.
A1  - Nieto, D.
A1  - Ong, R. A.
A1  - Otte, A. N.
A1  - Park, N.
A1  - Perkins, J. S.
A1  - Pohl, Manuela
A1  - Popkow, A.
A1  - Prokoph, H.
A1  - Pueschel, Elisa
A1  - Quinn, J.
A1  - Ragan, K.
A1  - Rajotte, J.
A1  - Reyes, L. C.
A1  - Reynolds, P. T.
A1  - Richards, G. T.
A1  - Roache, E.
A1  - Sembroski, G. H.
A1  - Shahinyan, K.
A1  - Smith, A. W.
A1  - Staszak, D.
A1  - Telezhinsky, Igor O.
A1  - Tucci, J. V.
A1  - Tyler, J.
A1  - Varlotta, A.
A1  - Vincent, S.
A1  - Wakely, S. P.
A1  - Weinstein, A.
A1  - Welsing, R.
A1  - Wilhelm, Alina
A1  - Williams, D. A.
A1  - Zajczyk, A.
A1  - Zitzer, B.
T1  - Very-high energy observations of the galactic center region by veritas IN 2010-2012
JF  - The astrophysical journal : an international review of spectroscopy and astronomical physics
N2  - The Galactic center is an interesting region for high-energy (0.1-100 GeV) and very-high-energy (E > 100 GeV) gamma-ray observations. Potential sources of GeV/TeV gamma-ray emission have been suggested, e.g., the accretion of matter onto the supermassive black hole, cosmic rays from a nearby supernova remnant (e.g., Sgr A East), particle acceleration in a plerion, or the annihilation of dark matter particles. The Galactic center has been detected by EGRET and by Fermi/LAT in the MeV/GeV energy band. At TeV energies, the Galactic center was detected with moderate significance by the CANGAROO and Whipple 10 m telescopes and with high significance by H.E.S.S., MAGIC, and VERITAS. We present the results from three years of VERITAS observations conducted at large zenith angles resulting in a detection of the Galactic center on the level of 18 standard deviations at energies above similar to 2.5 TeV. The energy spectrum is derived and is found to be compatible with hadronic, leptonic, and hybrid emission models discussed in the literature. Future, more detailed measurements of the high-energy cutoff and better constraints on the high-energy flux variability will help to refine and/or disentangle the individual models.
KW  - astroparticle physics
KW  - black hole physics
KW  - Galaxy: center
KW  - gamma rays: galaxies
KW  - methods: data analysis
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1088/0004-637X/790/2/149
SN  - 0004-637X
SN  - 1538-4357
VL  - 790
IS  - 2
PB  - IOP Publ. Ltd.
CY  - Bristol
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kamann, S.
A1  - Husser, T. -O.
A1  - Brinchmann, Jarle
A1  - Emsellem, E.
A1  - Weilbacher, Peter Michael
A1  - Wisotzki, Lutz
A1  - Wendt, Martin
A1  - Krajnovic, D.
A1  - Roth, M. M.
A1  - Bacon, Roland
A1  - Dreizler, S.
T1  - MUSE crowded field 3D spectroscopy of over 12 000 stars in the globular cluster NGC 6397
JF  - Tectonophysics : international journal of geotectonics and the geology and physics of the interior of the earth
N2  - We present a detailed analysis of the kinematics of the Galactic globular cluster NGC 6397 based on more than similar to 18 000 spectra obtained with the novel integral field spectrograph MUSE. While NGC 6397 is often considered a core collapse cluster, our analysis suggests a flattening of the surface brightness profile at the smallest radii. Although it is among the nearest globular clusters, the low velocity dispersion of NGC 6397 of < 5 km s(-1) imposes heavy demands on the quality of the kinematical data. We show that despite its limited spectral resolution, MUSE reaches an accuracy of 1 km s(-1) in the analysis of stellar spectra. We find slight evidence for a rotational component in the cluster and the velocity dispersion profile that we obtain shows a mild central cusp. To investigate the nature of this feature, we calculate spherical Jeans models and compare these models to our kinematical data. This comparison shows that if a constant mass-to-light ratio is assumed, the addition of an intermediate-mass black hole with a mass of 600 M-circle dot brings the model predictions into agreement with our data, and therefore could be at the origin of the velocity dispersion profile. We further investigate cases with varying mass-to-light ratios and find that a compact dark stellar component can also explain our observations. However, such a component would closely resemble the black hole from the constant mass-to-light ratio models as this component must be confined to the central similar to 5 ' of the cluster and must have a similar mass. Independent constraints on the distribution of stellar remnants in the cluster or kinematic measurements at the highest possible spatial resolution should be able to distinguish the two alternatives.
KW  - globular clusters: individual: NGC 6397
KW  - stars: kinematics and dynamics
KW  - techniques: radial velocities
KW  - techniques: imaging spectroscopy
KW  - black hole physics
Y1  - 2016
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201527065
SN  - 1432-0746
VL  - 588
PB  - EDP Sciences
CY  - Les Ulis
ER  - 
TY  - JOUR
A1  - Abramowski, Attila
A1  - Aharonian, Felix A.
A1  - Benkhali, Faical  Ait
A1  - Akhperjanian, A. G.
A1  - Angüner, Ekrem Oǧuzhan
A1  - Backes, Michael
A1  - Balenderan, Shangkari
A1  - Balzer, Arnim
A1  - Barnacka, Anna
A1  - Becherini, Yvonne
A1  - Tjus, J. Becker
A1  - Berge, David
A1  - Bernhard, Sabrina
A1  - Bernlöhr, K.
A1  - Birsin, E.
A1  - Biteau, Jonathan
A1  - Böttcher, Markus
A1  - Boisson, Catherine
A1  - Bolmont, J.
A1  - Bordas, Pol
A1  - Bregeon, Johan
A1  - Brun, Francois
A1  - Brun, Pierre
A1  - Bryan, Mark
A1  - Bulik, Tomasz
A1  - Carrigan, Svenja
A1  - Casanova, Sabrina
A1  - Chadwick, Paula M.
A1  - Chakraborty, N.
A1  - Chalme-Calvet, R.
A1  - Chaves, Ryan C. G.
A1  - Chretien, M.
A1  - Colafrancesco, Sergio
A1  - Cologna, Gabriele
A1  - Conrad, Jan
A1  - Couturier, C.
A1  - Cui, Y.
A1  - Dalton, M.
A1  - Davids, I. D.
A1  - Degrange, B.
A1  - Deil, C.
A1  - dewilt, P.
A1  - Djannati-Ataï, A.
A1  - Domainko, W.
A1  - Donath, A.
A1  - Dubus, G.
A1  - Dutson, K.
A1  - Dyks, J.
A1  - Dyrda, M.
A1  - Edwards, T.
A1  - Egberts, Kathrin
A1  - Eger, P.
A1  - Espigat, P.
A1  - Farnier, C.
A1  - Fegan, S.
A1  - Feinstein, F.
A1  - Fernandes, M. V.
A1  - Fernandez, D.
A1  - Fiasson, A.
A1  - Fontaine, G.
A1  - Forster, A.
A1  - Fuling, M.
A1  - Gabici, S.
A1  - Gajdus, M.
A1  - Gallant, Y. A.
A1  - Garrigoux, T.
A1  - Giavitto, G.
A1  - Giebels, B.
A1  - Glicenstein, J. F.
A1  - Gottschall, D.
A1  - Grondin, M. -H.
A1  - Grudzinska, M.
A1  - Hadsch, D.
A1  - Haeffner, S.
A1  - Hahn, J.
A1  - Harris, J.
A1  - Heinzelmann, G.
A1  - Henri, G.
A1  - Hermann, G.
A1  - Hervet, O.
A1  - Hillert, A.
A1  - Hinton, James Anthony
A1  - Hofmann, W.
A1  - Hofverberg, P.
A1  - Holler, Markus
A1  - Horns, D.
A1  - Ivascenko, A.
A1  - Jacholkowska, A.
A1  - Jahn, C.
A1  - Jamrozy, M.
A1  - Janiak, M.
A1  - Jankowsky, F.
A1  - Jung, I.
A1  - Kastendieck, M. A.
A1  - Katarzynski, K.
A1  - Katz, U.
A1  - Kaufmann, S.
A1  - Khelifi, B.
A1  - Kiefeer, M.
A1  - Klepser, S.
A1  - Klochkov, D.
A1  - Kluzniak, W.
A1  - Kolitzus, D.
A1  - Komin, Nu.
A1  - Kosack, K.
A1  - Krakau, S.
A1  - Krayzel, F.
A1  - Kruger, P. P.
A1  - Laffon, H.
A1  - Lamanna, G.
A1  - Lefaucheur, J.
A1  - Lefranc, V.
A1  - Lemiere, A.
A1  - Lemoine-Goumard, M.
A1  - Lenain, J. -P.
A1  - Lohse, T.
A1  - Lopatin, A.
A1  - Lu, C. -C.
A1  - Marandon, V.
A1  - Marcowith, Alexandre
A1  - Marx, R.
A1  - Maurin, G.
A1  - Maxted, N.
A1  - Mayer, M.
A1  - McComb, T. J. L.
A1  - Mehault, J.
A1  - Meintjes, P. J.
A1  - Menzler, U.
A1  - Meyer, M.
A1  - Mitchell, A. M. W.
A1  - Moderski, R.
A1  - Mohamed, M.
A1  - Mora, K.
A1  - Moulin, Emmanuel
A1  - Murach, T.
A1  - de Naurois, M.
A1  - Niemiec, J.
A1  - Nolan, S. J.
A1  - Oakes, L.
A1  - Odaka, H.
A1  - Ohm, S.
A1  - Opitz, B.
A1  - Ostrowski, M.
A1  - Oya, I.
A1  - Panter, M.
A1  - Parsons, R. D.
A1  - Arribas, M. Paz
A1  - Pekeur, N. W.
A1  - Pelletier, G.
A1  - Perez, J.
A1  - Petrucci, P. -O.
A1  - Peyaud, B.
A1  - Pita, S.
A1  - Poon, H.
A1  - Puhlhofer, G.
A1  - Punch, M.
A1  - Quirrenbach, A.
A1  - Raab, S.
A1  - Reichardt, I.
A1  - Reimer, A.
A1  - Reimer, O.
A1  - Renaud, M.
A1  - de los Reyes, R.
A1  - Rieger, F.
A1  - Rob, L.
A1  - Romoli, C.
A1  - Rosier-Lees, S.
A1  - Rowell, G.
A1  - Rudak, B.
A1  - Rulten, C. B.
A1  - Sahakian, V.
A1  - Salek, D.
A1  - Sanchez, David M.
A1  - Santangelo, A.
A1  - Schlickeiser, R.
A1  - Schussler, F.
A1  - Schulz, A.
A1  - Schwanke, U.
A1  - Schwarzburg, S.
A1  - Schwemmer, S.
A1  - Sol, H.
A1  - Spanier, F.
A1  - Spengler, G.
A1  - Spies, F.
A1  - Stawarz, L.
A1  - Steenkamp, R.
A1  - Stegmann, Christian
A1  - Stinzing, F.
A1  - Stycz, K.
A1  - Sushch, Iurii
A1  - Tavernet, J. -P.
A1  - Tavernier, T.
A1  - Taylor, A. M.
A1  - Terrier, R.
A1  - Tluczykont, M.
A1  - Trichard, C.
A1  - Valerius, K.
A1  - Van Eldik, C.
A1  - Van Soelen, B.
A1  - Vasileiadis, G.
A1  - Veh, J.
A1  - Venter, C.
A1  - Viana, A.
A1  - Vincent, P.
A1  - Vink, J.
A1  - Volk, H. J.
A1  - Volpe, F.
A1  - Vorster, M.
A1  - Vuillaume, T.
A1  - Wagner, S. J.
A1  - Wagner, P.
A1  - Wagner, R. M.
A1  - Ward, M.
A1  - Weidinger, M.
A1  - Weitzel, Q.
A1  - White, R.
A1  - Wierzcholska, A.
A1  - Willmann, P.
A1  - Wornlein, A.
A1  - Wouters, D.
A1  - Yang, R.
A1  - Zabalza, V.
A1  - Zaborov, D.
A1  - Zacharias, M.
A1  - Zdziarski, A. A.
A1  - Zech, Alraune
A1  - Zechlin, H. -S.
T1  - Long-term monitoring of PKS2155-304 with ATOM and HESS:investigation of optical/gamma-ray correlations in different spectral states
JF  - Astronomy and astrophysics : an international weekly journal
N2  - In this paper we report on the analysis of all the available optical and very high-energy gamma-ray (> 200 GeV) data for the BL Lac object PKS 2155-304, collected simultaneously with the ATOM and H.E.S.S. telescopes from 2007 until 2009. This study also includes X-ray (RXTE, Swift) and high-energy gamma-ray (Fermi-LAT) data. During the period analysed, the source was transitioning from its flaring to quiescent optical states, and was characterized by only moderate flux changes at different wavelengths on the timescales of days and months. A flattening of the optical continuum with an increasing optical flux can be noted in the collected dataset, but only occasionally and only at higher flux levels. We did not find any universal relation between the very high-energy gamma-ray and optical flux changes on the timescales from days and weeks up to several years. On the other hand, we noted that at higher flux levels the source can follow two distinct tracks in the optical flux-colour diagrams, which seem to be related to distinct gamma-ray states of the blazar. The obtained results therefore indicate a complex scaling between the optical and gamma-ray emission of PKS 2155 304, with different correlation patterns holding at different epochs, and a gamma-ray flux depending on the combination of an optical flux and colour rather than a flux alone.
KW  - radiation mechanisms: non-thermal
KW  - galaxies: active
KW  - black hole physics
KW  - BL Lacertae objects: individual: PKS 2155-304
KW  - galaxies: jets
KW  - gamma rays: galaxies
Y1  - 2014
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1051/0004-6361/201424142
SN  - 0004-6361
SN  - 1432-0746
VL  - 571
PB  - EDP Sciences
CY  - Les Ulis
ER  - 
TY  - THES
A1  - Kamann, Sebastian
T1  - Crowded field spectroscopy and the search for intermediate-mass black holes in globular clusters
T1  - Spektroskopie dichter Sternfelder und die Suche nach mittelschweren schwarzen Löchern in Kugelsternhaufen
N2  - Globular clusters are dense and massive star clusters that are an integral part of any major galaxy. Careful studies of their stars, a single cluster may contain several millions of them, have revealed that the ages of many globular clusters are comparable to the age of the Universe. These remarkable ages make them valuable probes for the exploration of structure formation in the early universe or the assembly of our own galaxy, the Milky Way. A topic of current research relates to the question whether globular clusters harbour massive black holes in their centres. These black holes would bridge the gap from stellar mass black holes, that represent the final stage in the evolution of massive stars, to supermassive ones that reside in the centres of galaxies. For this reason, they are referred to as intermediate-mass black holes. The most reliable method to detect and to weigh a black hole is to study the motion of stars inside its sphere of influence. The measurement of Doppler shifts via spectroscopy allows one to carry out such dynamical studies. However, spectroscopic observations in dense stellar fields such as Galactic globular clusters are challenging. As a consequence of diffraction processes in the atmosphere and the finite resolution of a telescope, observed stars have a finite width characterized by the point spread function (PSF), hence they appear blended in crowded stellar fields. Classical spectroscopy does not preserve any spatial information, therefore it is impossible to separate the spectra of blended stars and to measure their velocities. Yet methods have been developed to perform imaging spectroscopy. One of those methods is integral field spectroscopy. In the course of this work, the first systematic study on the potential of integral field spectroscopy in the analysis of dense stellar fields is carried out. To this aim, a method is developed to reconstruct the PSF from the observed data and to use this information to extract the stellar spectra. Based on dedicated simulations, predictions are made on the number of stellar spectra that can be extracted from a given data set and the quality of those spectra. Furthermore, the influence of uncertainties in the recovered PSF on the extracted spectra are quantified. The results clearly show that compared to traditional approaches, this method makes a significantly larger number of stars accessible to a spectroscopic analysis. This systematic study goes hand in hand with the development of a software package to automatize the individual steps of the data analysis. It is applied to data of three Galactic globular clusters, M3, M13, and M92. The data have been observed with the PMAS integral field spectrograph at the Calar Alto observatory with the aim to constrain the presence of intermediate-mass black holes in the centres of the clusters. The application of the new analysis method yields samples of about 80 stars per cluster. These are by far the largest spectroscopic samples that have so far been obtained in the centre of any of the three clusters. In the course of the further analysis, Jeans models are calculated for each cluster that predict the velocity dispersion based on an assumed mass distribution inside the cluster. The comparison to the observed velocities of the stars shows that in none of the three clusters, a massive black hole is required to explain the observed kinematics. Instead, the observations rule out any black hole in M13 with a mass higher than 13000 solar masses at the 99.7% level. For the other two clusters, this limit is at significantly lower masses, namely 2500 solar masses in M3 and 2000 solar masses in M92. In M92, it is possible to lower this limit even further by a combined analysis of the extracted stars and the unresolved stellar component. This component consists of the numerous stars in the cluster that appear unresolved in the integral field data. The final limit of 1300 solar masses is the lowest limit obtained so far for a massive globular cluster.
N2  - Kugelsternhaufen sind dichte, gravitativ gebundene Ansammlungen von teilweise mehreren Millionen Sternen, die ein fester Bestandteil jeder massiven Galaxie sind. Aus der Untersuchung der Kugelsternhaufen in der Milchstraße weiß man, dass das Alter von vielen dieser Objekte vergleichbar ist mit jenem des Universums. Dies macht sie zu wertvollen Forschungsobjekten, beispielsweise um die Entstehung der Milchstraße und die Strukturbildung im frühen Universum zu verstehen. Eine aktuelle wissenschaftliche Fragestellung befasst sich damit, ob Kugelsternhaufen massive schwarze Löcher beherbergen. Diese würden eine Brücke schlagen von den stellaren schwarzen Löchern, die durch den Kollaps massereicher Sterne entstehen, zu den supermassiven schwarzen Löchern, welche man in den Zentren massiver Galaxien beobachtet. Man bezeichnet sie daher auch als mittelschwere schwarze Löcher. Die sicherste Diagnostik, um schwarze Löcher zu detektieren und ihre Masse zu bestimmen ist, die Bewegung der Sterne innerhalb ihrer gravitativen Einflusssphäre zu vermessen. Spektroskopische Untersuchungen vermögen dies über die Dopplerverschiebung von Spektrallinien, sind jedoch in dichten stellaren Feldern wie Kugelsternhaufen schwierig. Aufgrund der Turbulenz in der Atmosphäre und dem endlichen Auflösungsvermögen des Teleskops erscheinen die Sterne in den Beobachtungen nicht punktförmig, sondern mit einer durch die Punktspreizfunktion (PSF) gegebenen Breite. In dichten stellaren Feldern führt dies dazu, dass die Sterne überlappen. Da klassische spektroskopische Verfahren nicht bildgebend sind, lassen sich die Beiträge der Einzelsterne zu einem beobachteten Spektrum nicht trennen und die Geschwindigkeiten der Sterne können nicht vermessen werden. Bildgebende spektroskopische Verfahren, wie etwa die Integralfeld-Spektroskopie, bieten jedoch die Möglichkeit, die PSF zu rekonstruieren und basierend darauf die Spektren überlappender Sterne zu trennen. Im Rahmen der vorgelegten Arbeit wird das Potential der Integralfeld-Spektroskopie in der Beobachtung dichter stellarer Felder zum ersten Mal systematisch analysiert. Hierzu wird eine Methodik entwickelt, die das Extrahieren von Einzelsternspektren über eine Rekonstruktion der PSF aus den vorhandenen Daten erlaubt. Anhand von Simulationen werden Voraussagen darüber gemacht, wie viele Sternspektren aus einem gegebenen Datensatz extrahiert werden können, welche Qualität diese Spektren haben und wie sich Ungenauigkeiten in der rekonstruierten PSF auf die Analyse auswirken. Es zeigt sich hierbei, dass die entwickelte Methodik die spektroskopische Analyse von deutlich mehr Sternen erlaubt als klassische Verfahren. Parallel zu dieser systematischen Studie erfolgt die Entwicklung einer dezidierten Analysesoftware, welche im zweiten Teil der Arbeit auf Daten von drei Kugelsternhaufen angewendet wird, die mit dem PMAS Integralfeld-Spektrographen am Calar Alto Observatorium aufgenommen wurden: M3, M13 und M92. Die Auswertung dieser Daten liefert Spektren für eine Stichprobe von ungefähr 80 Sternen pro Kugelsternhaufen, weit mehr als bisher im Zentrum eines der drei Haufen verfügbar waren. In der weiteren Analyse werden Jeans Modelle für jedes der drei Objekte gerechnet. Diese erlauben basierend auf einer angenommenen Massenverteilung innerhalb des Kugelsternhaufens eine Vorhersage der Geschwindigkeitsdispersion der Sterne. Der Vergleich mit den gemessenen Geschwindigkeiten zeigt, dass in keinem der drei Haufen ein schwarzes Loch benötigt wird, um die Dynamik der zentrumsnahen Sterne zu erklären. Im Gegenteil, die Beobachtungen können zu 99,7-prozentiger Sicherheit ausschließen, dass sich in M13 ein schwarzes Loch mit einer Masse größer 13000 Sonnenmassen befindet. In den anderen beiden Haufen liegt diese Grenze noch bei deutlich geringeren Massen, nämlich bei 2500 Sonnenmassen in M3 und 2000 Sonnenmassen in M92. In M92 ist es außerdem möglich, das Limit noch weiter herabzusetzen durch eine zusätzliche Analyse der unaufgelösten stellaren Komponente. Diese Komponente besteht aus dem integrierten Licht all jener Sterne, die zu schwach und zahlreich sind als dass sie aus den verfügbaren Daten einzeln extrahiert werden könnten. Das endgültige Limit von 1300 Sonnenmassen ist das geringste, welches bisher in einem massiven Kugelsternhaufen gemessen wurde.
KW  - Kugelsternhaufen
KW  - Sterndynamik
KW  - Physik schwarzer Löcher
KW  - Integralfeld-Spektroskopie
KW  - PSF Analyse
KW  - globular clusters
KW  - stellar dynamics
KW  - black hole physics
KW  - integral field spectroscopy
KW  - PSF fitting
Y1  - 2013
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:kobv:517-opus-67763
ER  -